The breakthrough technique supercools plasma with lasers before trapping them in a magnetic field; allowing physicists to study the northern lights, white dwarves and nuclear fusion in ever greater detail. Source: https://www.livescience.com/laser-cooled-plasma-trapped.html
Tag: lights
Fireball lights up the night sky above UK as meteor breaks apart
An meteor breaking apart as it entered the atmosphere above the U.K. might be the most well documented fireball meteor ever seen. Source: https://www.livescience.com/fireball-meteor-spotted-uk.html
Boston Dynamics Is Selling its 70-Pound Robot Dog To Police Departments
The New York Times reports on what the city’s police department calls Digidog, “a 70-pound robotic dog with a loping gait, cameras and lights affixed to its frame, and a two-way communication system that allows the officer maneuvering it remotely to see and hear what is happening.”
Police said the robot can see in the dark and assess how safe it is…
People sleep less before a full moon
Researchers find that whether you live in a rural or urban environment, your sleep patterns are affected by the full moon. On the nights leading up to full moon, people fall asleep later and sleep less overall. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/people-sleep-less-before-full-moon…
Who’s Actually To Blame For the Texas Power Disaster?
With millions of Texans still without power in the wake of a winter storm and frigid temperatures, everyone is looking for someone to blame. From a report, shared by a reader: Many Democrats are blaming Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for failing to adequately prepare for the storm. Many conservatives are blaming the environmental movement — insisting that frozen wind turbines show…
Galaxies have magnetic fields, too! Images here
Until recently, magnetic fields in the outskirts of galaxies were too faint to be detected. Although it’s still not clear what causes them or how they’re maintained, astronomers have started to create images of their observations of galaxies’ magnetic fields producing beautiful aurora-like effects. See them here. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/images-of-magnetic-fields-in-galaxies…
What is the Milky Way?
When someone says “Milky Way,” do you think of the starry pathway across our sky, or of the great pinwheel-shaped galaxy in space? Both are correct! Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-the-milky-way-galaxy…
Amazon Plans Wall-Mounted Echo as Smart Home Command Center
Amazon is developing a new Echo device with a large touchscreen that attaches to the wall and serves as a smart home control panel, video chat device and media player, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the plans. From a report: The company’s Lab126 hardware division is designing the device to be a digital command center, showing users upcoming calendar events,…
The 1st sign of intelligent life beyond Earth?
Physicist Avi Loeb of Harvard believes we should take seriously the idea that ‘Oumuamua – the 1st known object to pass through our solar system from interstellar space – might have been created by an alien civilization. His new book is called “Extraterrestrial.” Source: https://earthsky.org/space/book-avi-loeb-extraterrestrial-1st-sign-of-intelligent-life…
The Empire State Building and Its Related Buildings Are Now Powered By Wind
The iconic Empire State Building that has crowned Midtown Manhattan since the early 1930s is now a game changer in American architecture in a different way: by becoming completely powered with renewable energy. The Hill reports: Announced on Wednesday, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) confirmed that it struck a three-year contract with Green Mountain Energy to power its entire commercial real…